10 Works, September 27th. is Jean-Baptiste Nattier's day, his story, illustrated with footnotes #212

Jean-Baptiste Nattier (27 September 1678, Paris - 23 May 1726, Paris) was a French history painter.

His father was the portrait painter, Marc Nattier and his mother was the miniaturist, Marie Courtois. His brother, Jean-Marc Nattier, also became a painter. Both brothers received their first art lessons from their father.

Jean-Baptiste Nattier  (1678–1726)

Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, c. 1711

Oil on canvas

73,5x92 cm

Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg

Joseph was taken to Egypt by the Ishmaelite traders, he was purchased by Potiphar, an Egyptian officer. Potiphar was captain of the guard for Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Joseph works hard for his master, Potʹi·phar. So when Joseph grows older, Potʹi·phar puts him in charge of his whole house. 

Joseph was a very handsome and well-built young man, and Potiphar’s wife soon began to look at him lustfully. “Come and sleep with me,” she demanded. Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household. No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

So when her husband comes home, she lies to him and says: ‘Joseph tried to lie down with me!’ Potʹi·phar believes his wife, and he is very angry with Joseph. So he has him thrown into prison. More on Joseph and Potiphar

Attributed to Jean Baptiste Nattier (French, 1678–1726)

Cimon and Pero

Oil on Canvas

95.5 x 74.5 cm. (37.6 x 29.3 in.)

Private collection

Roman Charity is the exemplary story of a woman, Pero, who secretly breastfeeds her father, Cimon, after he is incarcerated and sentenced to death by starvation. She is found out by a jailer, but her act of selflessness impresses officials and wins her father's release.

The story is recorded by the ancient Roman historian Valerius Maximus, and was presented as a great act of filial piety and Roman honour. A painting in the Temple of Pietas depicted the scene. Among Romans, the theme had mythological echoes in Juno's breastfeeding of the adult Hercules, an Etruscan myth. More on Roman Charity

From 1704 to 1709, he studied at the Académie de France à Rome and, in 1712, was received as a member of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture upon presentation of his painting, Joseph sollicité par la femme de Putiphar (See above). 

Jean-Baptiste Nattier (1678-1726)

The Death of Adonis, c. 1718

Oil on shaped canvas made up to a rectangle

34 x 41in. (87.6 x 106cm.)

Private collection

Sold for USD 30,000 in Jun 2020

In Greek mythology, Adonis was the god of beauty and desire. Originally, he was a god worshipped in the area of Phoenicia (modern – day Lebanon), but was later adopted by the Greeks. According to the most popular belief, he was the son of Theias, king of Syria, and Myrrha (also known as Smyrna), Theias’ daughter.

Adonis was a great hunter and Artemis got jealous of his hunting skills. So Artemis sent a wild boar which eventually killed Adonis in one of his hunting expeditions. A different version of the myth has it that the boar was sent by Ares, as he was the lover of Aphrodite. Adonis bled to death in Aphrodite’s arms. Anemones sprang out of the tears of Aphrodite while she was mourning the death of her lover.  More on the Death of Adonis

Jean Baptiste Nattier

Boreas Abducting Oreithyia

Oil on canvas

100 x 90 cm

Private collection

Estimate for 26,000 - 35,000 EUR in November 2021

Failing to win the hand of the lovely Athenian princess Orethyia, one of the daughters of King Erechtheus, by gentle means, Boreas, the cold wind god of the North, decided to revert to his true nature of wildness and cold rage. The story is told by Ovid in the sixth book of the Metamorphoses, and Nattier admirably evokes the passion and fury of the tale. Boreas swoops down, concealed by dark and stormy clouds, and forcibly snatches up Oreithyia. Boreas carried her back to his northern realm, where she later bore him twin sons. More on Boreas Abducting Oreithyia

Jean-Baptiste Nattier  (1678–1726)

Romulus being taken up to Olympus by Mars

Oil on canvas

99 × 96.5 cm (38.9 × 37.9 in)

Museum of John Paul II Collection

The time came for Romulus to hand on the new Roman state to his successor; Mars therefore called a council of the gods, and proposed that the founder of Rome should be transformed into a god, which Jupiter approved.

With Romulus now the Roman god Quirinus, Hersilia, his queen, mourned his loss. Juno therefore instructed Iris to descend and invite Hersilia to join Romulus/Quirinus on Olympus.

Only Jean-Baptiste Nattier painted the apotheosis of the founder of Rome, in his Romulus being taken up to Olympus by Mars from about 1700. Mars is embracing Romulus, with the standard of Rome being borne at the lower left, and the divine chariot ready to take Romulus up to the upper right corner, where the rest of the gods await him. More on this painting

With this and training from his father and uncle he became an award-winning artist. He became well know for depicting his woman subjects in portraits as mythological goddesses. Examples of such can be seen in the Uffizi Gallery in his works, Henriette of France as Flora and, Marie Adelaide of France as Diana. Henriette (1727 – 1752) was the first daughter of King Louis XV and Queen Maria Leczinska of France and Marie Adelaide (1732 – 1800) their third. Both portraits show near perfect depictions of his subjects’ likeness, while still rendering a mythological ambience in the work. He also completed more straight-forward portraits of the Queen of France, Maria Leczinska (See below).

French School, 18th Century, Circle Jean Baptiste Nattier

Cleopatra

Oval canvas

87.5 x 77 cm

Private collection

Cleopatra VII Philopator (69 – August 12, 30 BC), was the last active pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, briefly survived as pharaoh by her son Caesarion. After her reign, Egypt became a province of the recently established Roman Empire.

Cleopatra was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, a family of Macedonian Greek origin that ruled Egypt after Alexander the Great's death. The Ptolemies spoke Greek throughout their dynasty, and refused to speak Egyptian, which is the reason that Greek as well as Egyptian languages were used on official court documents such as the Rosetta Stone. By contrast, Cleopatra did learn to speak Egyptian and represented herself as the reincarnation of the Egyptian goddess Isis.

Cleopatra originally ruled jointly with her father Ptolemy XII Auletes, and later with her brothers Ptolemy XIII and Ptolemy XIV, whom she married as per Egyptian custom, but eventually she became sole ruler. As pharaoh, she consummated a liaison with Julius Caesar that solidified her grip on the throne.

After Caesar's assassination in 44 BC, she aligned with Mark Antony in opposition to Caesar's legal heir Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (later known as Augustus). With Antony, she bore the twins Cleopatra Selene II and Alexander Helio. Antony committed suicide after losing the Battle of Actium to Octavian's forces, and Cleopatra followed suit. According to tradition, she killed herself by means of an asp bite on August 12, 30 BC. More on Cleopatra

Nattier rose to prominence after executing engravings of Peter Paul Rebuns’, Marie de Medicis Cycle, and also in painting portraits of  Peter the Great, The Russian Tsar (1672 – 1725) (See below) and his wife the Empress Catherine (1684 – 1727) in Amsterdam (Encyclopedia Britannica). He was also commissioned by Peter the Great to paint historical works such as, Battle of Pultawa and The Battle of Lesnaya.

Attributed to Jean-Marc Nattier  (1685–1766)

Portrait of Peter I (1672–1725)

Oil on canvas Edit this at Wikidata

Height: 142.5 cm (56.1 in); Width: 110 cm (43.3 in)

Hermitage Museum  

Peter the Great , Peter I, ruled the Tsardom of Russia and later the Russian Empire from 7 May 1682 until his death in 1725, jointly ruling before 1696 with his elder half-brother, Ivan V.

Through a number of successful wars, he expanded the Tsardom into a much larger empire that became a major European power, that also laid the groundwork for the Imperial Russian Navy after capturing ports at Azov and the Baltic Sea. More on Peter I.

Jean Marc Nattier

The Battle of the Forest/ Battle of Lesnaya, 1717 

Pushkin Museum

The Battle of Lesnaya was one of the major battles of the Great Northern War. It took place between a Russian army commanded by Peter I of Russia, and a Swedish army commanded by Adam Ludwig Lewenhaupt and Berndt Otto Stackelberg.. The Swedes were escorting a supply column of more than 4,500 wagons for their main army in Ukraine. More on The Battle of Lesnaya 

Jean-Baptiste Nattier (1678-1726)

Portrait of Marie Rose Larlan de Rochefort, Marquise de Nétumières, c. 1748

Oil on canvas

39 ½ x 31 ½ in. (100.2 x 80.6 cm.)

Private collection

Nattier’s portrait of the Marquise de Nétumières was painted when the sitter was about 30 years old, and many of its delights are particular to the artist’s sumptuous yet modest portrayal of her. Despite the agitated excitement of the little black hound barking on her lap, her expression conveys a calm and direct openness and intelligence, and an inviting warmth of personality that accounts for much of the painting’s appeal. The beautiful, nuanced rendering of fabrics, subtle palette of various dark blues – including ‘Nattier Blue’, the color that still carries the artist’s name – and chocolate browns, and the gently rendered fall of natural light all contribute to its allure. The warm sfumato that envelops the marquise heightens the creaminess of her complexion, creating soft atmospheric effects that emphasize her refined beauty and function as a metaphor for the sweet charm of the sitter’s character that her contemporaries often cited. More on this painting

He painted many portraits, another of which is in the Uffizi Gallery; Marie Zephirine of France (See below), a granddaughter of King Louis XV, who died at only five years old. Nattier was an official portraitist for the King’s daughters and their children.

Jean-Baptiste Nattier (1678-1726)

Portrait of Princess Marie Zéphyrine of France (1750-1755), c. 1751

Oil on canvas

Height: 70.0 cm; Width: 82.0 cm

Uffizi Gallery

Marie Zéphyrine of France was a Daughter of France, the daughter of Louis, Dauphin of France, and Maria Josepha of Saxony.

Marie Zéphyrine died at Versailles due to an attack of convulsions, in the early hours of the morning of 2 September, having been baptised just days before by the Abbot of Chabannes. She was not officially mourned; a Daughter of France could only be mourned if she was over the age of 7. She was buried at the Royal Basilica of Saint Denis outside the capital of Paris. More on Marie Zéphyrine

He became involved the sexual scandals surrounding Benjamin Deschauffour, who was convicted for operating a pederastic network and executed. Nattier was imprisoned in the Bastille and his membership in the Académie was rescinded. Rather than suffer the fate of Deschauffour (whose corpse was publicly burned in the Place de Grève), he committed suicide by cutting his throat with an oyster knife.

His professional belongings at the Acadėmie were returned to his family. More on Jean-Baptiste Nattier

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19 Works, December 28th. is Alessandro Rosi's day, his art, illustrated with footnotes #256

Alessandro Rosi  (1627–1697) 

St Sébastien cared for by Ste Irene

Oil on canvas

Height: 132 cm (51.9 in); Width: 167.5 cm (65.9 in)

Brest’s Museum of Fine Arts

Sebastian stood by a staircase where the emperor was to pass and harangued Diocletian for his cruelties against Christians. This freedom of speech greatly astonished the emperor; who gave orders for his being seized and beaten to death with cudgels, and his body thrown into the common sewer. A pious lady, called Irene, admonished by the martyr in a vision, got it privately removed, and buried it in the catacombs at the entrance of the cemetery of Calixtus, where now stands the Basilica of St. Sebastian. More on St. Sebastian

Alessandro Rosi (28 December 1627 in Rovezzano – 19 April 1697 in Florence) was an Italian artist, working during the Baroque period.

Alessandro Rosi, (Florence 1627–1697)

Diana, a Satyr and Cupid

Oil on canvas

85 x 67 cm

Private collection

Sold for EUR 32,800.- in May 2019

The present painting is an allegory of Chastity tempted by Vice, represented respectively by Diana and a Satyr. The subject created here by Alessandro Rosi attained considerable success among the painters of his day. More on this painting

In Roman mythology, Diana was the goddess of the hunt, the moon and nature being associated with wild animals and woodland, and having the power to talk to and control animals. She was eventually equated with the Greek goddess Artemis, though she had an independent origin in Italy. Diana was worshipped in ancient Roman religion and is revered in Roman Neopaganism and Stregheria. Diana was known to be the virgin goddess of childbirth and women. She was one of the three maiden goddesses — along with Minerva and Vesta — who swore never to marry. More on Diane

Alessandro Rosi

The Judgment of Paris

Oil on canvas

70 x 55 cm

Private collection

Sold for  €89,940.00 in Jun 2010

Alessandro Rosi

The judgement of Paris

oil on canvas

28 1/2  by 23 in.; 72.5 by 58.5 cm.

Private collection

Estimate for 120,000 - 180,000 USD in January 2013

The present canvas is an early work by Rosi. Compared with his more complicated and multi figured mature pictures, compositions from his early career can be generally categorized as simpler, and with only a few essential figures.

Rosi executed another version of the present composition, of slightly smaller dimensions. (See above)

According to the myth, which varies slightly between Greek and Roman sources, Zeus held a banquet to celebrate the marriage of Achilles' parents. Having not been invited, Eris, the Goddess of Discord, threw a golden apple into the fray, which was inscribed 'to the fairest one'. Athena (Goddess of War), Hera (Zeus's wife and Queen of the Gods) and Aphrodite (Goddess of Love) each claimed that the apple was certainly meant for them, and the mortal Paris was appointed by Zeus to judge who should receive the prize. Having each bathed in the spring of Ida, the goddesses appeared to Paris, who was tending his flock on the mountain, and attempted to bribe him with various prizes. Hera offered to make him King, Athena to transform him into the ultimate warrior, and Aphrodite offered the love of the world's most beautiful woman. In the end, he awarded the apple to Aphrodite and received in return the love of Helen, wife of King Menelaus of Sparta, thereby providing the catalyst for the Trojan War. More on The judgement of Paris

Alessandro Rosi

Ceres

Oil on canvas

22 3/8 by 33 1/4 in.; 56.8 by 84.5 cm.

Private collection

Estimated for  $20,000 USD - $30,000 USD in Jan 2008

In ancient Roman religion, Ceres was a goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly relationships. She was originally the central deity in Rome's so-called plebeian or Aventine Triad, then was paired with her daughter Proserpina in what Romans described as "the Greek rites of Ceres". Her seven-day April festival of Cerealia included the popular Ludi Ceriales (Ceres' games) She is usually depicted as a mature woman.

Ceres is the only one of Rome's many agricultural deities to be listed among the Dii Consentes, Rome's equivalent to the Twelve Olympians of Greek mythology. The Romans saw her as the counterpart of the Greek goddess Demeter, whose mythology was reinterpreted for Ceres in Roman art and literature. More on Ceres

Alessandro Rosi

Bacchanalia, c. 1670

Oil on canvas, 67 x 90 cm

Private collection

Bacchanalia,  also called Dionysia, in Greco-Roman religion, any of the several festivals of Bacchus (Dionysus), the wine god. They probably originated as rites of fertility gods. Introduced into Rome from lower Italy, the Bacchanalia were at first held in secret, attended by women only, on three days of the year. Later, admission was extended to men, and celebrations took place as often as five times a month. The reputation of these festivals as orgies led in 186 bc to a decree of the Roman Senate that prohibited the Bacchanalia throughout Italy, except in certain special cases. Nevertheless, Bacchanalia long continued in the south of Italy.  More on Bacchanalia

Rosi trained in the workshops of Jacopo Vignali and Cesare Dandini, along with other young Florentine artists such as Carlo Dolci. It seems that he undertook a study trip to Rome, where he saw the work of Simon Vouet and Giovanni Lanfranco. In his early works the influence of his teacher Dandini can be seen, especially in the treatment of drapery, to which the latter always paid great attention. His biographer Baldinucci described him as having the extravagant temperament of an artist. Rosi enjoyed the patronage of some of the most important Florentine families of the time, such as the Corsini or Rinuccini families, for which he undertook large decorative projects. He also made a series of ten designs for tapestries commissioned by Cosimo III de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany. His foremost pupil was Alessandro Gherardini. He died at the age of seventy after being struck by a falling column while walking along the Via Condotta in Florence.

Alessandro Rosi

The guardian angel

Oil on canvas

69.3 by 55.9 cm.; 27 1/4  by 22 in.

Private collection

Sold for 37,500 GBP in December 2014

This engaging image embodies those qualities of emotional and religious intensity depicted in the sinuous style of the Florentine Seicento for which Alessandro Rosi is admired. The theme of the guardian angel was employed several times by Carlo Dolci, the leading figure in Florence of the generation preceeding Rosi's. Dolci's influence can be felt in the in the use of the half-length figures, the intensity of the relationship between the angel and youth, and in the distinctive profile of the angel. More on this painting

Alessandro Rosi

Cain and Abel

oil on canvas

26 3/4  by 20 1/2  in.; 68 by 52 cm.

Private collection

Sold for 37,500 USD in January 2018

In the dramatic scene, Rosi depicts the moment just after Cain has slain his brother Abel, who lays ashen in the foreground, as God the Father appears in a swirl of clouds above.  In Rosi's striking composition, Cain's back is turned to the viewer as he looks up at God above, the drama of their encounter enhanced by the stormy blue and purple sky. More on this painting

Alessandro Rosi

Rebecka at the well

Oil on canvas

117 x 92 cm

Private collection

Abraham wanted a wife for his son Isaac and sent his senior steward to his homeland of Mesopotamia to find a suitable woman. Tired after his long journey, the steward stopped at a well and prayed for guidance. When Rebecca came to get water, she offered it to the old man and his camels, and he recognized her as the appointed bride.

Alessandro Rosi

Hagar and the Angel

Oil on canvas

101 x 80 cm

Private collection

Sold for GBP 24,000 in Jul 2005

In this biblical narrative, which appears in Genesis 21:15–19, Hagar and her son Ishmael are expelled from Abraham’s house and wander in the wilderness for days. Having run out of water, Hagar can no longer bear the sight of her suffering son, so she leaves Ishmael under a bush and goes off to pray. 

Then an angel appears to her and says, “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there. Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation.” God opens her eyes, and she sees a well to provide water for her dying son. She fills her empty flask with water and returns to the young boy to revive him. More on Hagar and the Angel

Alessandro Rosi

The Holy family

Oil on canvas

Musée départemental de l'Oise

Alessandro Rosi

The Holy Family

Oil on canvas

47 5/8 x 43 7/8 in. (121 x 111.5 cm.)

Private collection

Sold for GBP 344,750 in Jul 2018

The Holy Family consists of the Child Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Joseph. Veneration of the Holy Family was formally begun in the 17th century by Saint François de Laval, the first bishop of New France, who founded a Confraternity.

Matthew and Luke narrate the episodes from this period of Christ's life, namely his Circumcision and later Presentation, the Flight to Egypt, the return to Nazareth, and the Finding in the Temple.[Joseph and Mary were apparently observant Jews, as Luke narrates that they brought Jesus with them on the annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem with other Jewish families. More on The Holy Family

The arrangement of the Madonna and Child is drawn from a successful invention by Dandini, which Rosi’s master treated on a number of occasions, including versions in the Ospedale di Santa Maria Nuova in Florence and a private collection in Milan (S. Bellesi, Cesare Dandini, Turin, 1996, pp. 177-8, nos. 119-120). Rosi elaborates on the composition with a touch of humour and domestic realism, as the cat paws at the dish on the table, and the Child plays with the bows of the Madonna’s dress; the embroidered draperies and architectural setting meanwhile speak of a new baroque exuberance. More on this painting

Alessandro Rosi (Florence 1627–1697)

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

Oil on canvas

108 x 84 cm

Private collection

Estimated for EUR 40,000.- to EUR 60,000.- in Oct 2017

The painting shows the episode that gave rise to the term "Doubting Thomas" which, formally known as the Incredulity of Thomas, had been frequently represented in Christian art since at least the 5th century, and used to make a variety of theological points. According to the Gospel of John, Thomas the Apostle missed one of Jesus's appearances to the Apostles after his resurrection, and said "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."John 20:25 A week later, Jesus appeared and told Thomas to touch him and stop doubting. Then Jesus said, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."John 20:29 More on The Incredulity of Saint Thomas

Alessandro Rosi

Mary Magdalene

Oil on canvas

144 x 89.5 cm

Private collection

Sold for 30.000,00 EUR

Mary Magdalene is sitting on a rock with a wooden crucifix in hand and surrounded by angels. The color of the drapery, lying in order to create subtle chiaroscuro effects, gives plasticity to the figure.

Mary Magdalene,  literally translated as Mary the Magdalene or Mary of Magdala, is a figure in Christianity who, according to the Bible, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers. She is said to have witnessed Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection. Within the four Gospels she is named more than most of the apostles. Based on texts of the early Christian era in the third century, it seems that her status as an “apostle" rivals even Peter's.

The Gospel of Luke says seven demons had gone out of her. She is most prominent in the narrative of the crucifixion of Jesus, at which she was present. She was also present two days later when, she was, either alone or as a member of a group of women, the first to testify to the resurrection of Jesus. John 20 and Mark 16:9 specifically name her as the first person to see Jesus after his resurrection.

During the Middle Ages, Mary Magdalene was regarded in Western Christianity as a repentant prostitute or promiscuous woman, claims not found in any of the four canonical gospels. More Mary Magdalene

Alessandro Rosi (Florence 1627-1707)

The Ecstasy of Saint Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi

oil on canvas

47¼ x 40 in. (120 x 101.6 cm.)

Private collection

Sold for GBP 46,100 in Apr 2008

St. Mary Magdalene de' Pazzi was a Carmelite nun of Florence who lived from 1566 to 1607. Baptised Caterina, she was the daughter of a union between two great noble families--her father being Camillo Geri de' Pazzi and her mother a member of the Buondelmonti house. Caterina received her first ecstatic vision at the age of 12. From the age of 14 she studied at the Calaresse, where the sisters observed her remarkable piety and prophesied that she would become a great saint. At the age of 16, having convinced her parents of her decision to dedicate herself to God, Caterina entered the Carmelite convent of Santa Maria degl' Angeli, well-known for its strict observance; she was clothed in 1583--taking the name Maria Maddalena--and professed in 1584.

The extraordinary was ordinary for this saint. She read the thoughts of others and predicted future events. During her lifetime, Mary Magdalene appeared to several persons in distant places and cured a number of sick people.

St. Mary held a number of offices in the convent before rising to that of Superior in 1604. Throughout her life, she continued to experience divine raptures, which often led her to utter maxims of Divine Love and spiritual counsel that were later collected as her Works. Beatified by Urban VII on 8 May 1626, she was canonised by Clement IX on 28 April 1669; her feast is kept on 27 May. More on Alessandro Rosi

Alessandro Rosi (Florence 1627 - 1697)

Sant'Agata curated by San Pietro, c. 1650-60

Oil on octagonal canvas

98x77 cm and 94x78 cm

Private collection

Sold for 70 000 € in May 2019

Rosi adopted this style that led him to success: dense and flagrant brushstrokes, drapery puffy, bright and enameled colors, strong chiaroscuro effects.

Pietro is caught in the act of spreading the ointment on the battered breast of the young woman who perhaps out of modesty looks away from the loving gesture, showing us the profile, the shoulder and the breast left uncovered by the shirt. The pose of this female figure recurs throughout Rosi's work. 

The sacred book and the palm of martyrdom in the foreground and the three blond cherubs with tufts wind in the background. More on this painting

Having dedicated her virginity to God, fifteen-year-old Agatha rejected the amorous advances of tRoman prefect Quintianus, who then persecuted her for her Christian faith. He sent Agatha to Aphrodisia, the keeper of a brothel. The madam finding her intractable, Quintianus sent for her, argued, threatened, and finally had her put in prison. Amongst the tortures she underwent was the cutting off of her breasts with pincers. After further dramatic confrontations with Quintianus, Saint Agatha was then sentenced to be burnt at the stake, but an earthquake saved her from that fate; instead, she was sent to prison where St. Peter the Apostle appeared to her and healed her wounds. Saint Agatha died in prison.  More on Saint Agatha of Sicily

Alessandro Rosi  (1627–1697)

Santa Cristina consoled by the Angels, c. 1650-60

Oil on octagonal canvases

98x77 cm and 94x78 cm

Private collection

Estimated for  £15,000 GBP - £25,000 GBP in Jul 2005

The painting narrates the tortures inflicted by the father and the emperor on the young and beautiful Cristina, first segregated in a tower and then pierced by arrows following her obstinacy not to want to renounce the Christian faith. Her bruised complexion is the clear sign of the suffering she is undergoing.

Wrapped in a lilac-colored dress, on which rests a white shawl embellished with blue and golden borders, Cristina is tied by a rope to a pole, exposed to the wrath of torturers who nevertheless do not appear in the representation. Unbalanced on one side, with her head bent, looking afflicted and aching, the young woman seems to find comfort only in the little angel who offers her the palm of martyrdom and in the two cherubs that look out into the sky crossed by clouds streaked with the same lilac of the his dress. More on this painting

Alessandro Rosi  (1627–1697)

S. Michele e S. Benedetto/S. Michele and S. Benedetto, c. 1665

Oil on canvas

Monastero di San Clemente (Prato)

San Michele is the Italian name of Saint Michael the Archangel.

The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in 3rd and 2nd century BCE Jewish works, often but not always apocalyptic, where he is the chief of the angels and archangels and responsible for the care of Israel. Christianity adopted nearly all the Jewish traditions concerning him, and he is mentioned explicitly in Revelation where he does battle with Satan, and in the Epistle of Jude, where the author denounces heretics by contrasting them with the Michael. He is also mentioned in surah of the Quran, where the Jews of Medina challenge Muhammed to tell them the name of the angel from whom he received revelation, and when told that it was Gabriel they reply that revelations came from Michael. More on Saint Michael

Saint Benedict founded twelve communities for monks at Subiaco, Lazio, Italy, before moving to Monte Cassino in the mountains of southern Italy. The Order of Saint Benedict is of later origin and, moreover, not an "order" as commonly understood but merely a confederation of autonomous congregations.

Benedict's main achievement, his "Rule of Saint Benedict", contains a set of rules for his monks to follow. Heavily influenced by the writings of John Cassian, it shows strong affinity with the Rule of the Master, but it also has a unique spirit of balance, moderation and reasonableness, which persuaded most Christian religious communities founded throughout the Middle Ages to adopt it. As a result, his Rule became one of the most influential religious rules in Western Christendom. For this reason, Giuseppe Carletti regarded Benedict as the founder of Western Christian monasticism. More on Saint Benedict

Alessandro Rosi  (1627–1697)

Female Saint with Putto

c. 1646

Oil on canvas, 64 x 51 cm

Private collection

Sold for GBP 37,600 in Dec 2001

The life and career of Alessandro Rosi had long remained hidden from scholarly attention, until 1989 when Alessandra Guicciardini published a study on his commission for the Palazzo Corsini in Florence. Until that point, many of his pictures had routinely been attributed to Sigismondo Coccapani, a Florentine contemporary, close in style. Rosi led a colourful life, noted by his biographers as a skilled draughtsman, who trained with Cesare Dandini and worked for Ferdinand de’ Medici, and died in an ‘extraordinary accident’: while walking on the via Condotta in Florence, a column fell from a terrace above and killed him. More on Alessandro Rosi

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

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20 Works, December 12th. is Karl Bryullov's day, his art, illustrated with footnotes #248

Brulloff Karl (1799 - 1852)

Juliet Tittoni as Jeanna D'Ark, c. 1850-1852

Oil on canvas

Tittoni family private collection

Having become close in Italy with the Tittoni family, Bryullov created portraits of almost his entire family, and in 1852 he painted a portrait of Juliet Tittoni.

Karl Pavlovich Bryullov (12 December 1799 – 11 June 1852), original name Charles Bruleau, also transliterated Briullov and Briuloff, was a Russian painter. He is regarded as a key figure in transition from the Russian neoclassicism to romanticism.

Brulloff Karl (1799 - 1852)

Diana, Endymion, and Satyr, c. 1849

Oil on cardboard

46.5x58.5 

The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

The painting ‘Diana, Endymion and Satyr’ was based on the erotic novel of the 18th century by the Italian poet Giambattista Casti. The myth about beautiful Endymion who seduced goddess Diana was very popular in Russian art. More on this painting

Diana is known for her affair with the beautiful mortal Endymion, the young shepherd who used to sleep on a mountain, and with whom she had fifty daughters.

Karl Bryullov

Satyr and Bacchante, c. 1824

Oil, canvas

25.5 x 21 cm

I have no further description, at this time

The satyr, recognisable by his cloven hooves, is a rural divinity symbolizing temptation and desire. Bacchantes are nymphs linked to the cult of Dionysus (or Bacchus). They are always depicted naked or scantily clad, wearing a crown of flowers, dancing or playing music. The two figures are rarely shown together.

Karl Bryullov was born in the family of the academician, woodcarver, and engraver Pavel Ivanovich Briullo who was of Huguenot descent. He felt drawn to Italy from his early years. Despite his education at the Imperial Academy of Arts (1809–1821), Bryullov never fully embraced the classical style taught by his mentors and promoted by his brother, Alexander Bryullov. 

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

Italian morning. 1823

Oil on canvas

Kunsthalle, Kiel, Germany

In 1825 the Russian public met with enthusiasm the first completed in Italy painting by Bryullov "Italian Morning" (1823, Kunsthalle, Kiel, Germany). The Society for the Encouragement of Artists presented it to Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, her husband Nicholas I expressed a desire to have a pair for her. Then Bryullov conceived the "Italian noon". 

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)
Italian noon (Italian woman picking grapes)

Oil on canvas

22 x 27

State Tretyakov Gallery

Both paintings make up a series. Here, for the first time, the artist's favorite type of slightly common southern female beauty appears. It is no coincidence that the Society for the Encouragement of Artists reacted rather coldly to the picture, to which the painter objected: "I decided to look for diversity in those forms of simple nature, which we often meet and often even more like than the strict beauty of statues" ... The version in the Tretyakov Gallery is more modest, conditional, the girl depicted rather resembles not a real peasant woman, but an ancient maenad, a companion of the god of winemaking Bacchus. More on this painting

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

Hope feeding love, c. 1824

Oil on canvas

22 x 27

I have no further description, at this time

Karl Bryullov

In a Harem, c. 1823 - 1835

Oil, canvas

I have no further description, at this time

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

Portrait of Countess Julia Pavlovna Samoilova moving away from the ball with her adopted daughter Amazilia Pacini (Masquerade), c. 1842

Oil on canvas

249 x 176 cm

The State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg, Russian.

Countess Yuliya Pavlovna Samoylova was a granddaughter of Count Martyn Skavronskiy and the last scion of Skavronskiy family. She grew up in the house of Count Yuliy Litta due to early death of her mother. Samoylova became an owner of Grafskaya Slavyanka manor. On January 25, 1825 she married Count Nikolai Samoylov, but later divorced him as well as several other persons. Samoylova had strong affiliations with Karl Briullov, whose The Last Day of Pompeii (See below) among others shows the idealized figures of himself and Samoylova. In 1840 Samoylova sold Grafskaya Slavyanka and left Russia for Italy. She was buried at Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. More on Countess Yuliya Pavlovna Samoylova

BRYULLOV, Karl Pavlovich

Portrait of Princess Elezabeta Pavlovna Saltykova, c. 1841

Oil on canvas

200 x 142 cm

State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

Horsewoman

Portrait of the pupils of Countess Y.P. Samoilova - Giovannina and Amatsilia

Oil on canvas

209.8 x 293

State Tretyakov Gallery

The sisters Giovannina and Amatsilia Pacini, pupils of Countess Y.P. Samoilova, are depicted. The eldest of the sisters abruptly stops the heated horse, but she herself remains absolutely calm. Wild power, subjugating fragile beauty, is one of the favorite motives of romanticism. The girl's face is perfect. The Italian type of appearance was considered perfect at the time of Bryullov, and the artist plays with it with pleasure. Refined play of colors, sparkling fabrics - every detail as if proclaims the magnificence of this "best of worlds". More on this painting

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, c. 1849

Oil on canvas

86.5 х 76 cm

Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts

The Fountain of Bakhchisaray is a poem by Alexander Pushkin, written during the years 1821 to 1823.

Pushkin began writing The Fountain of Bakhchisaray after having visited The Fountain of Tears at the Khan Palace in a town in central Crimea in 1820. More on The Fountain of Bakhchisarai

Karl Pavlovich Briullov

Scene from Willhelm Meister's Apprenticeship

Watercolour over pencil on paper

Private collection

Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship is the second novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1795–96.

The eponymous hero undergoes a journey of self-realization. The story centers upon Wilhelm's attempt to escape what he views as the empty life of a bourgeois businessman. After a failed romance with the theater, Wilhelm commits himself to the mysterious Tower Society. More on Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

Herminia at the shepherds

Based on the story of Torquato Tasso's poem "Jerusalem Liberated" 

Oil on canvas

138.2 x 99

State Tretyakov Gallery

Young Herminia, daughter of the Saracen king, in love with a Christian knight, went to seek his beloved for war, fearing for his life. Dressed in armor, she suddenly heard the magical sounds of the pipe - the old shepherd was playing. Following the wonderful sounds, Herminia came to the old hut, where she saw a family of shepherds weaving baskets. Noticing the girl in military uniform, the old shepherd began to convince her of the charms of a secluded quiet, and most importantly, peaceful life. 

Despite all the harmony of the picture, it was never finished by the painter - the master's fascinating nature drove him forward, forcing him to start new subjects. More on this painting

Jerusalem Liberated is an epic poem by the Italian poet Torquato Tasso, first published in 1581, that tells a largely mythified version of the First Crusade in which Christian knights, led by Godfrey of Bouillon, battle Muslims in order to take Jerusalem. More on Jerusalem Liberated

After distinguishing himself as a promising and imaginative student and finishing his education, he left Russia for Rome where he worked until 1835 as a portraitist and genre painter, though his fame as an artist came when he began doing historical painting.

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

Invasion of Henzerich on Rome

Oil on canvas

118.6 x 88.5

State Tretyakov Gallery

Henzerich, the king of the Germanic tribe of the Vandals, in 455 attacked Rome and subjected the city to a fourteen-day sack, as a result of which he consolidated his power in the Western Mediterranean. 

In this interpretation of the plot - Hanzerich orders his African assistants to seize the Dowager Empress Eudoxia and her daughters - speaks of the artist's acquaintance with Nikolai Gogol's article "On the Movement of Nations at the End of the 5th Century", which was part of the writer's collection "Arabesques" (1835). In the depths - a group of vandals is dragging as a trophy a seven-branched candlestick from the Jerusalem temple, taken out in 70 during the sack of the city by the Romans. On the right is a man dressed as a priest, possibly Pope Leo I the Great. Bryullov conceived the painting back in Italy, but he painted the sketch by order of A.A. Perovsky (writer Anthony Pogorelsky) already in Moscow, where A.S. Pushkin. The poet wrote to his wife: "... Perovsky showed me the Taking of Rome by Genseric (which is worth the Last Day of Pompeii), saying: ... How could he, this pig, express his canal, brilliant thought, he is a scoundrel, a beast. ... Scream". More on this painting

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

Siege of Pskov by the Polish king Stephen Bathory in 1581, c. 1843

Oil on canvas

482 x 675 cm

Russian Museum

The siege of Pskov, known as the Pskov Defense in Russia, took place between August 1581 and February 1582, when the army of the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stephen Báthory laid an unsuccessful siege and successful blockade of the city of Pskov during the final stage of the Livonian War of 1558–1583. 

The Pskovian garrison undertook frequent sallies. There were 31 attacks by Polish troops during the five-month siege. The siege dragged on, with neither side able to end it; in the meantime diplomatic negotiations, in which the Vatican became involved, led to the end of hostilities. More on Siege of Pskov

Soon after his arrival in the capital of Russia, Bryullov started the Siege of Pskov commissioned by Nicholas I. The work on the picture lasted for many years. But in 1843 he abandoned the painting never to return to it. The failure may partly be accounted for by the general crisis of Russian historical painting, and to the end of his life Bryullov never worked with historical subjects. More on this painting

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

The Last Day of Pompeii, c. (1830 - 1833)

Oil on canvas

Height: 456.5 cm (14.9 ft); Width: 651 cm (21.3 ft)

Russian Museum

The picture shows the  eruption of Vesuvius on August 24, 79 AD . A visit by the painter to Pompeii in 1827 is clearly documented. He was so impressed by the Via dei Sepolcri that he decided to capture the events in a painting. Letters suggest that Brjullow had read Pliny the Younger's eyewitness account and used it as a model for the painting.

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

A Turkish Girl

Oil on canvas

79.8 x 66.2

State Tretyakov Gallery

In 1835 Bryullov took part in the "artistic and literary expedition" organized by Count V.P. Orlov-Davydov to the Ionian Islands and Asia Minor, but in Athens he fell ill and was forced to go to Constantinople, and from there to Russia. The artist stayed in Turkey for more than three months. The works of this period are distinguished by the vitality of the episodes, the accuracy of the characteristics, the gentle humor, the subtle perception of the national flavor. In the works performed upon his return to Russia, among them "The Turkish Woman", and painted according to old impressions, oriental exoticism comes to the fore. A young woman languidly, relaxed reclining on the sofa, motley embroidered clothes set off her "non-European" beauty. The glowing background sharpens the feeling of bliss and sensuality that fills the picture. More on this painting

His best-known work, The Last Day of Pompeii (1830–1833) (See above), is a vast composition compared by Pushkin and Gogol to the best works of Rubens and Van Dyck. It created a sensation in Italy and established Bryullov as one of the finest European painters of his day. After completing this work, he triumphantly returned to the Russian capital, where he made many friends among the aristocracy and intellectual elite and obtained a high post in the Imperial Academy of Arts.

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

Bathsheba

Oil on canvas

126.5 x 175 

State Tretyakov Gallery

The plot is borrowed from the 2nd Book of Kings of the Old Testament . Bathsheba is the wife of the commander Uriah, who served King David. David saw Bathsheba while bathing and ordered to send Uriah to certain death, after which he took Bathsheba to his palace. As a punishment for this sin, David's firstborn died on the seventh day. Bryullov is interested not so much in the plot as in the ancient oriental culture, its spicy beauty. The motif - a naked body illuminated by the sun - allowed the artist to show off his decorative gift. The heroine's face remains in shadow, but the silhouette is highlighted, which creates the feeling of living flesh; colored reflections are scattered here and there on the canvas. The marble whiteness of the skin is set off by the figure of a black servant. More on this painting

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

St. Alexandra, c. 1845

 Holy Queen Alexandra, Ascended to Heaven

Oil on canvas

State Museum-Reserve Tsarskoe Selo, Pushkin

Saint Alexandra was the reputed wife of Emperor Diocletian and secretly converted to Christianity. Jacobus de Voragine listing her name as “Alexandria” describes her as the wife of Dacian, the Roman Prefect who persecuted Saint Caprasius of Agen and Saint Maginus. While Saint George was being tortured, Alexandra went to the arena, bowed before him, and professed her faith openly. When she questioned whether she was worthy of paradise and martyrdom without being baptized, Saint George told her, “Do not fear, for your blood will baptize you.” She was denounced as a Christian and imprisoned on her husband's orders in Nicomedia, then sentenced to death.

Her husband was so outraged by her conversion that he is said to have uttered, “What! Even thou hast fallen under their spell!”. Alexandra quietly accepted her sentence and prayed as the guards walked her to the place of execution. She asked if she could rest for a moment. The guards allowed this. She rested by the place of Saint George's execution at Nicomedia's City Wall. More on St. Alexandra

Karl Bryullov  (1799–1852)

 Nuns of the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Rome, singing at the organ, c.  1849  

Oil on canvas

I have no further description, at this time

While teaching at the academy (1836–1848) he developed a portrait style which combined a neoclassical simplicity with a romantic tendency that fused well, and his penchant for realism was satisfied with an intriguing level of psychological penetration. While he was working on the ceiling of St Isaac's Cathedral, his health suddenly deteriorated. Following advice of his doctors, Bryullov left Russia for Madeira in 1849 and spent the last three years of his life in Italy. He died in the village of Manziana near Rome and is buried at the Cimitero Acattolico there. More on Karl Bryullov

Please visit my other blogs: Art Collector, Mythology, Marine Art, Portrait of a Lady, The Orientalist, Art of the Nude and The Canals of Venice, Middle East Artists, 365 Saints and 365 Days, also visit my Boards on Pinterest

Images are copyright of their respective owners, assignees or others. Some Images may be subject to copyright

I don't own any of these images - credit is always given when due unless it is unknown to me. if I post your images without your permission, please tell me.

I do not sell art, art prints, framed posters or reproductions. Ads are shown only to compensate the hosting expenses.

If you enjoyed this post, please share with friends and family.

Thank you for visiting my blog and also for liking its posts and pages.

Please note that the content of this post primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online.